Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1887-03-10
WHAT SAILORS EAT.
A Diet Made Up Largely of Sailed Meats,
Hash and Potatoes.

| Hash and Potatoes.
Perhaps some of the young admirers
Of a '.life ON the ocean wave" would
like to know how they Jared aboard
ship. There is no mothers pantry to
visit. Each sailor furnishes his own
tin plate, coffee-cup and knife and
fork. He has no table, with chairs
placed for his convenience. When
grub" is ready to be served the cook
gives the signal. A sailor comes and
receives pan of bread; another takes
a pan of beef. the third takes the
large coffee-pot, with hash or potatoes,
as the cook chooses. The bill of fare
is fixed by law. At the beginning of
the voyage the captain calls his crew
aft and inquiries if there are any who
wish to have their food weighed. They
always prefer to eat as much as they
| can ''stow away"
The sailors eat in the forecastle. If
they are disposed, they can rig them
selves a table; otherwise they must sit
around on trunks or the deck in rough
weather, and take their rations. The
officers eat with the captain in the
| cabin, where table is set and furnish
ed the same as at home. A rack is
used in rough weather to keep the
dishes from dancing If there is a good
cook on board every thing goes we'll,
| but an unskilled cook makes all hands
miserable.
| During rough weather passengers do
not attempt to sit at the table, but take
whatever they require in their hands
| and eat the best way they can. One
day sailor was eating his rations dur
| ing rough weather, when the ship gave
a lurch and piece of beef went
galloping across the deck. The sailor
raised his fork, and, making dash for
the beef, shouted: Stop that horse. "
| The sailors called their beef .salt
horse The story which they tell is
this: Zone voyage, when the beef was
particularly tough, horseshoe was
found in the bottom of the beef BARREL
whereupon one of the sailors got up
the following rhyme:
"Old horse, old horse what brought you herer'
From Saccarap to Portland pier?
was dragging lumber for many a year.
was kicked and tuffed with sore abuse
And sailed down for sailors use;
Between the mainmast and the pumps
was sailed down in great big chunks:
They hauled me out and picked my bones
Then haul me over to Davy JONES'
The captain of sailing ship was
asked by his wife if she couldn't give
the sailors a good dinner. He replied
that he was afraid it would make them
saucy. She finally prevailed. A fine
turkey was procured from shore and
given to the cook, who served it up in
good order and gave it to the sailors.
One gave scrutinizing look and ex-
claimed: ''What is this old bird doing
herep' Another said: II wonder how
old it is? Must have died of old age"
The third remarked that if it had been
good for any thing they would have
kept it in the cabin. They finally hove
it overheard and made dinner of
''salt-horse. The captains wife,
after that, never meddled with her
husbands housekeeping.
Sometimes dolphin is caught, and,
as you watch the dying colors of blue
and gold, as he writhes upon the deck,
visions of savory chowder and fresh
fried fish pass before you.
With what an important air the cook
comes into the cabin and asks for
piece of silver. which he puts into the
frying-p pan with the suffering fish. If
the silver turns black he considers, the
fish to have been poisoned. He says
they sometimes eat the copper from the
bottom of a ship orfrom copper banks.
How anxiously we await the test those
on shore, whose thoughts are filed with
politics, the temperance question, and
divorce cases can never know.
The silver is usually found to be
bright and shining, and the luxury of a
fresh-fsh dinner is enjoyed with UNI
adulterated happiness. Often a por-
poise is harpooned, and then there is
great excitement. The liver and heart'
taste similar to those of hog, but one.
must be exceedingly hungry to EMO
the meat. It has one virtue-that of
being fresh. The oil is usually saved,
being quite valuable. That found in
the head is much esteemed for oiling
clocks, etc: When a Spanish mack
erel is caught savory dinner may be
expected.
Sometimes thousands of flying fish
dart from the water on all sides of the
ship, and, spreading their gauze wings,
fly for few seconds above the water.
while we are tempted to exclaim:
Fish, fish all around,
And not one mouthfu1 to eat.
For. although they are most delicate
eating, it is impossible to catch them
at sea. Often during the night one
flies on board and the cook serves it up
for the most favored person on board
On the Island of Barbados the fisher
men are very successful in catching
these fish, and meal of boned flying
fish is worth eating.
During severe storms the cook has
many trials trying to serve his meals.
In carrying the dinner from the galley
to the cabin he is sometimes struck by
heavy sea, the basket washed from
his grasp, the dinner and dishes
wrecked. On one occasion the cook of
a bark was struck by a sea and washed
overheard, dinner, basket and all. 1t
was beyond the power of his shipmates
to save him. Worcester Spy.